Kakemono Set of Two Paintings – Koi at the Waterfall

One koi hurls itself upward against the current, a second turns in the waves below and gathers momentum. Between them a waterfall plunges down on both panels, painted in long, pale streaks that dissolve on the silk. The two narrow scrolls are matched so that, hanging side by side, they form a single scene. The wooden box names the subject briefly: Koi taki-nobori, the carp climbs the waterfall.

Behind the motif stands the legend, handed down from China, of the carp that swims through the Dragon Gate and becomes a dragon. In Japan it became a symbol of perseverance and advancement and is a popular gift for the birth of a son or a new beginning. The fish are painted with great expertise: the scales sit as a fine net on the dark body, the eyes shimmer golden brown, and the fins are glazed in delicate rosé.

Both paintings bear the signature Raiseki and two seals. They point to Tamaoki Raiseki of Gifu, who is considered a student of the animal painter Ōhashi Suiseki. These hand-painted one-of-a-kind pieces on silk date from the Shōwa period; each scroll measures 35 × 182 cm and is mounted in olive-gold silk, and the jikusaki are made of wood. The scrolls show signs of age and lie together in one wooden box.